Before School Starts

October 1, 2012October 1, 2012 Sangeeta.McAuley Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context

Talking and Listening Chairs

As I look back on this past week, I realize that I spent very little time teaching curriculum and more time working on life skills. I have two choices at this point. I could think, “Oh wow, I’m really far behind!” or “I’ve made a huge investment that I hope will pay off in the future.” I choose the latter.

My students have been coming to with me problems that happen at recess: someone left them out of a game, two friends were whispering something not-so-nice about them or they saw someone being treated badly and didn’t know what to do.

When we talk through these problems, it’s obvious to me that they have the answers on how to solve their issues, but they need a tool to help them do so.

So, I introduce the talking and listening chairs. One chair is marked “T”, the other “L”.

We use one of the problems that happened to illustrate how to use the chairs. For example, “Bill” was upset that “Megan” was not listening to his ideas when they were trying to solve a math problem together. So, Bill sat in the “T” chair and Megan sat in the “L” chair and each had opportunities to talk about what was bothering them and listen to how the other person was feeling. It quickly became evident that they was room for compromise on both ends and they seemed relieved to be able to move on from this problem.

Like most tools, the talking and listening chairs also have boundaries, which I discuss with my students:

* If the person you want to take to the chairs is not ready, you may need to wait.

* If you go out to talk, you will need to attentively listen as well.

* If the problem takes longer than 10 minutes to solve, you may need some help.

* When classmates are using the chairs, we can show respect by giving them some privacy.

* If there are many students involved in the problem, we may need to discuss it as a whole class.

When students ask to use the chairs, I keep track of what time they step out in the hallway and occasionally walk by the door, so the talking and listening remains positive and focused.

As a tool, it can be very successful at helping students who lack confidence to speak up when something is bothering them. I especially enjoy watching, when some of my students who are still learning English approach a classmate to say, “I need to talk to you.”

I have yet to teach a curriculum subject that is more rewarding than that moment.

September 27, 2012September 27, 2012 Erin.Grewar Before School Starts, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Reinventing the Wheel – Improving Past Practice

One advantage of entering your second or multiple year(s) of teaching is being able to go back and reuse materials you had previously gathered and created. The mad and desperate scrambling for resources during the first year of teaching a subject is what many would attribute as being the most stressful part of the job. Having a bank of lessons/activities/assessments allows you to devote more energy and thought to the many other aspects of teaching. As everyone is aware however, the need to consistently update, revise or in some cases, entirely revamp your program is a necessity. Apart from being an obvious benefit to your students, it is a way to push your own limits of creativity. I’ve found that this task is much easier and productive if undertaken sooner rather than later. It can be particularly tempting when your best plans and intentions go awry to want to immediately block out the experience or at least relegate it to the realm of distant memory with “well, I know I won’t be doing that again”. Without belabouring the “reflective process”, I try to efficiently take stock of the success or failure of activities and assignments as soon as they are completed by jotting down impressions on a sticky note and then adhering them to my printed master copy. At the same time and using the same sticky note procedure, I also solicit the input of students and ensure that everyone has the chance to comment at some point during the year. At the end of the process, I have a bank of input available when it comes time to plan for the following year. Sometimes, “reinventing the wheel” can be as simple as changing the assignment pairing (from an individual to small group) or restructuring the order in which things were taught or assessed. Of course, this process can be more stimulating and interesting if you have the opportunity to debrief and compare with your grade team or teaching partner, all of whom will bring a different perspective and insight to the table.

September 27, 2012September 27, 2012 Erin.Grewar Before School Starts, Celebrating Success, General, Learning About Your Students

Keeping It All in Perspective – Teaching Really is a Far-Reaching Profession

As teachers and former students ourselves, we know the impact that we can have on students. One just has to think about “rateyourteacher.com” or think back to our impressions of our own past teachers to realize how distinct and ingrained our memories really are. As we embark on another (or perhaps the first) year in the most “noblest of professions”, it seems like a good time to psych ourselves up with such inspirational thoughts before we are rendered irate and exasperated by that particular student who drives us nuts. I originally planned to address one of the suggested topics of discussion regarding your “most remarkable student” and how you were able to make a difference. In the process of reviewing the legions of young adults I’ve come into contact with in the past 10 years of teaching, I digressed and instead became sidetracked with the notion of time. Nothing brings home the quick passing of years like bumping into a former student who is now teaching your own children. For those of you who have also taught for a while, I’m sure you can relate. Mentally flipping through the faces of all my former students in search of the most remarkable brought to mind many who stand out for their compassion, their funny jokes, their temperamental nature, etc. There are also those who are memorable not only for who they were, but also for what they became – the suicide, the innovative scientist, the high school dropout, the successful entrepreneur, the teenage mother, the infamous actor, the murder victim, the accidental death. What struck me as interesting was that for both of us, we remain frozen in time and are lastingly perceived as a grade 8 teacher and a boy/girl of fourteen. All of which made me appreciate the fact that each year with every new batch of students, relationships, interactions and impressions are formed and will mutually impact us in a way that is more profound and enduring than we realize.

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012 Roz.Geridis Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Planning

Flexibility

I have part of a new assignment this year. In the morning I am covering prep. Due to re-organization, my schedule is changing again for Monday. I have completed many get to know activities, learned students’ names and just found out some classes I still have and others are new for me. That being said, it will all work out! Everything does. The students get attached very quickly and now I will get to know even more students.

My afternoon, I teach English, Math, Health and Pool to a grade 6 extended French class. The grade 6 curriculum is the same for me but now I teach a smaller portion of it. I will be busy sharing my plans with the other teacher who now has my class for Science.

That is teaching; change and flexibility. My morning will work out and I have worked out my plans to have the next days covered. I just needed to adjust a few items and have been able to use my current plans. As a school, you may have to go through re-organization. It is difficult. Deciding which students will excel in which environment, which students need to be separated from each other, balancing the girls and boys, special education and ELL needs. It is a very difficult task which also needs to be completed after a long day of teaching a class of 52 kids.

As I need to get teaching (with the new classes) in order to have enough assessment for the Progress Report card, I have decided to incorporate my get to know activities with the curriculum. I am planning to find ways to incorporate these activities as much as possible with my new classes. I plan to start with appreciation fans to help build the community within the classroom. The students all know each other and many know who I am but I need to get to know their names (better).

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012 Roz.Geridis Building Inclusion, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Wellness

Getting to Know your Students

At the beginning of the year I complete some activities about the classroom environment. I look to build a community environment highlighting the classroom is as much theirs as it is mine. We completed a few activities but I wanted to share this particular one because the student responses really helped me understand and get to know them.

One of the activities we did this year was we talked about keeping the good in and the bad out of us in order to do well at school. We had a conversation about what helps us do well at school and what keeps us from doing well. Some responses about what helps us do well at school were: healthy eating, sleeping, completing homework, asking for help. Some of the responses about what bad things can keep us from doing well at school were: being late, not completing homework, eating bad, not getting enough sleep, bullying, people being mean, depression, anxiety.

The last two responses were comments which really made me pay attention to who said them. I immediately contacted the guidance counselor, informed the administration, and spoke to last year’s teachers. These two comments (from two different students) have helped me with my approach to the students. It made me remember, no matter what community you are in students could have a hard life and have a variety of family/life situations to handle. It reminded me of the need to make that connection as a person with the students.

Getting back to the activity; after our lesson, the students got into groups and traced one student in the group. Then as a group, they wrote what helps them to do well at school on the inside of the body and what keeps them from doing well on the outside of the body. The students really enjoyed the activity and every class (from grade 5 to grade 8) has asked to complete the activity. We have the final products hanging in the class as an everyday reminder. This year, I decided to not complete the activity with my prep classes but I will consider it for next year.

September 19, 2012September 19, 2012 Carmen.Oliveira Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Wellness

Lifeclass Begins

“The difference between school and life is that in school you learn the lessons and then get a test, but in life you get a test and then learn the lessons.”

This year I have decided to dedicate a substantial amount of time and effort to learning about and teaching life lessons that can be integrated into my program. Having spent the last few weeks really getting to know my students, I feel that they are a group of kids that can benefit from deep and meaningful lessons because they are both ready to explore them and in need of that support in their life. I looked into integrating each lesson into our Literacy, Social Justice, Financial Literacy, and Healthy Living aspects of the curriculum. So far, the students have really enjoyed their experience so I thought I’d share what we’ve done.

At the start of each week, I post a quote (linked to a life lesson I believe they need to explore) with questions to guide the students’ thinking. They glue the prompt into their Journals and then have a week to complete the Journal entry. The entries have written components and can also be expressed in artwork and various media (cartoons, posters, etc.). The prompt is also posted on our website so students can share it with their families and hopefully discuss it together.

The responses I have received have been such a pleasure to read and I find that the students are working to try and incorporate the lesson into their way of thinking and acting. They understand life so much more than we sometimes give them credit for! At the end of the week, we share our thoughts, how we will use the lesson in our lives, and how some of us have already tried. This week, the first thing out of their mouths as they walked in on Monday was, “Mrs. Oliveira, what’s the life lesson quote this week?”

If you’d like to take a look at some examples, you can find them in our classroom website. Click “More” and scroll down to “Lifeclass”- it’s a simple idea that has my students learning about life in a way they’re ready to explore.

www.oliveiraclassroom.webs.com

September 15, 2012September 16, 2012 Katie Pryde Before School Starts, Classroom Layouts

Setting Up My Grade 3 Classroom

A week and a half before school started, I accepted a Grade 3 LTO position at Joshua Creek Public School in the Halton District School Board. As this was my very first experience having to set up my classroom and start the school year off with my own class, I was a bit nervous yet very excited. I spent numerous days setting up classroom, from bulletin boards, to desk groupings to our classroom library. I never knew how much time this can take, but I feel it is key to have a welcoming class for student arrival.

How did I create a welcoming classroom?
* Posting a “Welcome” sign on my door with my name (Ms. Pryde), room number (RM 25) and class designation (3-1). My welcome sign had frogs on it, so I also wrote a catch phrase of “Leap Into Learning”, and had small frogs posted on the door with each students name written on them
* Having students names posted on their locker and desks, so they knew where to put their belongings
* Having colourful colours on my bulletin boards
* Labeling the classroom with pictures and words, so all students know a) where they can find things and b) where things go (i.e. pencils, markers, rulers, dictionaries, pencil crayons, erasers and I also labeled the book bins in our classroom library)
* Created a central meeting place, which includes a carpet for students to be seated at

As my school is a TRIBES school, I put my students in groups- 4 groups of 5 students. I also tried to ensure that each group had roughly the same number of boys and girls (luckily, I was quite successful at this as I have very close numbers of boys and girls).

While setting up my classroom, I envisioned the different uses of my classroom. So, I included a central meeting carpeted area with an easel for modelled and shared instruction, as well as a comfortable place for community circle or reading independently (or with a partner). I also set up my guided reading table with chairs for my students. Textbooks, dictionaries, classroom library books, clipboards, math manipulatives and indoor recess games are placed on the shelves which are at student level. I set up our listening area, with a stereo, audio books and headphones, as well as a place for our classroom computer.

Overall, I was very pleased with my classroom setup, although it was a lot of hard work! Luckily, my students really enjoy our classroom and I know that all my time and effort was well worth it!

September 9, 2012September 10, 2012 Alison.Board Before School Starts, Classroom Layouts, First Week Reflections, Resources

Getting Started In A New Grade and School

As I return to blog about my experiences this year, I have a different perspective of some of the challenges that September brings. In addition to a new program (Full-Day Kindergarten), I am also at a new school. The change is exciting, but learning the culture and practices of a new school takes time, as occasional teachers know all too well.

During the first week I was focused on creating an inviting and supportive environment for all the new students, and with staggered entry the number of students grew each day from 17 to 26. However, I was also getting accustomed to the many bells (bells for students and bells to remind teachers of duty), locating printers that were close to my classroom for print jobs, and learning school protocols for various incidents.

In addition to Carmen’s good advice in the previous post, I would like to add:

Be flexible. We love to plan, however flexibility is needed throughout the day dependent on the needs of the students, your colleagues, and your administration.
Be innovative. You may not have the materials or resources that you want for your ideal program, so draw on your own creativity and innovation.
Have a sense of humour. When things go array, see the humour and enjoy the laugh.

With Phase III of the Full-Day Kindergarten program being launched at my new school, we are all adapting to the unexpected. It helps that we communicate daily on what is working to establish consistent routines for entry, lunch hour, and dismissal in all the FDK classrooms. My classroom was previously a Special Education classroom. I set up the room with limited resources and furniture, though it is expected to arrive soon. We are waiting for a carpet, chairs, easels, and kitchen units for the drama centre. However, some creative borrowing has provided the necessities for the first few weeks of school.

I am attaching a photo of my room (15) before the make-over to a Full-Day Kindergarten room. Then I will post photos as the room evolves with materials, resources, and the children’s work. If anyone is interested in ideas for centres, let me know and I can also add a specific post in response to a question.

Room 15 (Before becoming a FDK room)

August 30, 2012August 30, 2012 Carmen.Oliveira Before School Starts, Learning About Your Students, Planning, Professional Learning and Growth, Resources

Getting Ready for the Art of Teaching and Learning

If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others. –Tryon Edwards

As I headed into my classroom today to set up our learning environment for this year, I stood in the middle and looked around at the space which, in a few days, will be filled with curious faces wondering what this year will be like. A teacher candidate who was helping me mentioned that any advice I could give her would be appreciated because right now, it all seemed a bit overwhelming. I told her that there are a few things I have come to know for sure about teaching and learning and proceeded to share them with her. At the end of our conversation she had a big smile on her face and looked so much more at ease! The truth is, my advice was simple. Everyone knows it, but it’s sometimes forgotten as we go through our busy teacher lives! Here are a few things I shared with her:

1. Connect! Life and learning are about connections, to each other and to the world around us. If you put in the effort to really connect with your students and create learning opportunities where they explore the connections within the world around them through cross-curricular activities, the learning environment will be charged with an energy that keeps students engaged and willing to take risks as their learning progresses.

2. Start small. The journey to becoming a great teacher begins with mastering one aspect, topic, or subject at a time. Choose one (or if you’re very courageous, two) areas to focus on this year to really explore, practice, and begin to master. Become the best possible teacher in your chosen area of focus. Celebrate your learning and success!

3. Become resourceful. No one who has become great at what they do reached their peak without some guidance and support from mentors. Network and reach out to teachers, administrators, support staff and anyone else who may help you on your path of professional development. Contact the bloggers on our site! A useful resource is the “Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning” to get you started this year.

Teaching isn’t always easy. That’s a fact. But the journey is well worth it when you realize the potential you have to inspire students, parents, staff, and the community around you.

Below you will find a few items that may be useful for the start of the year (some of which appear in the “Heart and Art of Teaching and Learning” resource.

BT Building effective Classrooms

curriculum night information newsletter

september wanted poster

my t-shirt and summer shorts

In a Million Words or Less…

if math were

grade 6 student intro letter

grade 6 math introductory letter

grade 6 homework newsletter

grade 6 first week newsletter

June 19, 2012June 19, 2012 Carmen.Oliveira Assessment, Celebrating Success, Communication Tools, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Planning, Report Cards, Year End Activities

My Report Card

As I mentioned in my last post, I feel that not only is it important for our students to receive feedback on their progress but I too like to get a sense of how my year went in terms of what I feel are the essential foundations to a successful classroom: lesson delivery, classroom culture, assessment and evaluation, and communication. My students get extremely excited to write my report card and after all the jokes about what my mom and dad will do if I end up receiving less than favourable results, they always share very meaningful feedback about what I did well and what I can improve on. I read my report cards carefully, reflect on the ideas and suggestions, and just before the end of the year I sit with the class and go over my results as well as my plan to address the areas I need to improve on.

I honestly feel this is a powerful exercise in modelling what I expect from my students. I like to walk the walk and this is a great way to demonstrate to them that I am a lifelong learner and continuously use feedback to reflect on my practice in order to make the necessary adjustments so I can reach the goal of becoming not only a great teacher but hopefully one of the inspirations in their lives.

For next year I need to work on providing descriptive feedback that is more specific and provides a clearer focus with respect to how the students can improve. I also have to be more mindful of bullying behaviour that may be occurring outside my classroom but can impact students’ learning inside the class. I plan to work on how we co-construct success criteria in order to simplify it while at the same time making it effective. Just a few things to keep in mind…

I’m quite satisfied with my progress and look forward to continuing on my path to living the art of teaching and learning!

Below I share with you a few report card comments. I’d like to note that I did receive a few Level 3 marks but they were difficult to read and spoke to the same topics mentioned below.

: Mrs. Oliveira was able to create entertaining lessons that had; an effective impact on my learning. She was able to effectively; communicate to me in many different ways. Mrs. Oliveira has; also provided many opportunities for me to show information; (eg. poster, Prezi, essay, etc.)